By Atty. Antonio P. Pekas
Behind the success of a man is always a woman. Don’t believe, however, what stupid men say that for more “success,” one should have more women.
So, who was the woman behind the Carlos Yulo phenomenon or the two gold medals he won?
The golds caused the whole nation to be agog. Tears of joy steamed down everybody’s cheeks. At the very least, the singing of the national anthem caused goosebumps in every Filipino worth calling one.
After what seemed to be an eternity or impossibility, we finally could claim as a nation we are now a bonafide part of the world. Worthy of sharing from its hallowed Olympic stage some tiny space to receive an Olympic gold;
Well, Hidilin Diaz was the first Filipino to get one, but there was the unexpressed feeling as if it will never happen again.
Then came the humble boy from Malate, Manila. If you are not sure about where that is, it is where UP Manila, PGH (Philippine General Hospital), Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and DOJ are found.
The woman behind was Cynthia Carrion. She spotted the seven year old kid in a local gymnastics event and immediately knew she saw a gem,
From then on, she served as his second mother. The real parents were just too busy everyday making ends meet.
As Carlos Yulo described her, “Siya ang tumayong nanay ko. Inaaway ang lahat, masuportahan lang n’ya ako.”
She described herself as a professional beggar who begged Manny V. Pangilinan (MVP) or his foundation to support the young gymnast, especially his rigorous training in Japan. Along with the training, he was studying and able to graduate as a literature major from Tokyo University. The support was generous. Yet there were times when Cynthia Carrion had to shell out from her own pocket.
When it comes to people, even athletes, don’t expect governments, much less (or worse) the Philippine government to be able to take care of them and make them realize their full potential. Worth recalling here was John Steinbeck—anything done well was not by government. This is unfair though to the small minority who are honest and hardworking in the government service..
The case of Wesley So is still fresh. As he observed, typically, Philippine sports officials and their relatives, assistants, secretaries and other factotums would be occupying more than one-half of the plane during tournaments while players are starving for proper financial support. So, he did the right thing of moving over to the USA where he was immediately welcomed and accorded citizenship. Now we could only envy during international tournaments when the one starkly visible on Wesley So’s side is always the star-spangled banner.
And, could any man have given the motherly care and nurturing a prodigy like Carlos Yulo needed that resulted in the big success he has become? No way. As the Iron Lady, very well portrayed by Meryl Streep in the movie of the same title, said, jf you want something to be talked about, broach it with men. If you want something to be accomplished, discuss and plan about it with women.**
